Ashes

John 12:24-26 (NRSV)

"Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour."

Every year, I am especially privileged to stand in the pastor’s “spot” on Ash Wednesday.

From where I stand, at the end of the annual Ash Wednesday service, I behold a sight that few other mortals witness on this side of the veil.

I see dead people.

Everywhere. Lots of them.

I’ll never forget that Ash Wednesday nine years ago when I first spread the ashes of penitence and mortality on the foreheads of those who came to “celebrate” this initiation of the Lenten season.

“Repent, and believe the Gospel,” I would tell them as they received the sign of the cross. Or darker, and more attention-getting, “From dust thou art, and to dust thou shall return.”

Ash Wednesday is a big time party, huh? Only Good Friday stands as a more sombering day of awareness on the Christian calendar. Ash Wednesday doesn’t have bunnies, or colorful eggs. There’s not even any of that stringy, green plastic “grass” stuff that goes in the bottom of Easter baskets. There aren’t even any baskets for that matter.

Instead, there is prayer, and scripture, music and ashes. When you get right down to it, there’s death on Ash Wednesday, and that’s a big part of the point. Do you know what’s amazing about all of this? Christians often come out in droves to experience the Ash Wednesday worship experience.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Few of us Protestants will have Ash Wednesday attendance numbers that surpass or even equal our Sunday worship attendance. But our churches will be far from empty.

SOTH is the very kind of church that should theoretically “shun” a service as “dark” as Ash Wednesday. We’re “contemporary,” after all, and most of us have allergic skin reactions to any whiff of the traditional, right?

We’re upbeat – I don’t think there will ever be a time that you could stand in the building at SOTH and not hear laughter coming from somewhere. We are Easter people, resurrection people, through and through. Why would Ash Wednesday draw a crowd?

Because even though we’re Easter people, we’re also mortal people. Because nobody gets out of this alive. Because we need some perspective on this “life” thing that our culture is never going to give us. Because “dead,” isn’t all there is. But mostly because somewhere in our reptile brains, we’re scared it might be.

We don’t live forever. Worse yet, we often fall short of the mark set before us while we’re here. Know what’s even worse than that? Sometimes churches sell (and people willingly buy) the idea that the good folks who comes to church every Sunday are done with all their problems.

That’s not exactly right.

The good people who come to church every Sunday are recovering, growing, being redeemed and transformed by the love of God in Jesus Christ every single day. But even when we know that, it’s still hard for us to be really honest with God and one another about our needs.

Tonight, we get to be honest. We will worship in a way that acknowledges our sin, our need for repentance, and our inability to secure our own eternity. The Gospel tells us that God waits to take care of all of those things, when our hearts are open and willing to receive.

And so…tonight, the ashes. The ashes of our sins that stain us and show our need for redemption. The ashes of mortality that symbolize what this world will one day become. All things are passing away, even our own bodies. The ashes that represent the sacrifice of Christ, and his own entering in to death on our behalf upon the cross. The ashes that point to our need for something greater than ourselves.

That something greater is coming. In fact, it already is. Our Easter celebration 40 days from now will be all the sweeter because we have remembered why we need it and what it means.

Sin and death do give way. Holiness and life are real. Tonight, we remember our need, and hear God’s invitation.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

Our Ash Wed. service will happen tonight in the worship space, 7pm.

Softball signup has gone incredibly well, and the response has been overwhelming. SOTH will field two teams this year (the first time?) one Co-ed church team and one Men’s church team. We’re going to have a blast. If you still want to play, both rosters are almost full and will be turned in by the end of this week. Let us know a.s.a.p if you haven’t been able to sign up but would still like to get involved: sandi@sothumc.net

Do you get “The Staff,” our monthly newsletter? It mailed this week, and should be in your homes by today. If you don’t receive it and would like to, please e-mail us at Sandi’s address above and let us know that you’d like to be on our mailing list. The March issue is absolutely covered up in stuff that will be happening in our LIFE AT SOTH. Make sure to check it out or let us know and we’ll get you a copy. Very shortly, you should be able to download the March edition at our website, http://www.sothumc.net/